Death Or Fortune (32 page)

     Once we agreed
to help Ramanthus a complete change came over him.  Gone was the anger we
had seen only moments before.  It was as if all his worries had been
washed away, as if we were the answer he had been looking for.  To this
day I am still not sure why.  We were all firsthand witness to the
darkness in his heart.  The deeds he committed to get this far were some
of the darkest things I had ever seen.  Perhaps part of him still believed
he was doing the right thing and the mood swings we saw was the good left inside
of him rebelling at the blood on his hands.  For the longest time he sat
there in silence, I started to wonder if he was still with us.  I jumped a
little at the sound of his voice when he did speak again.
'I want you all to
come with me. I have things to show you now. Come along gentlemen.'
All at
once he stood up and started to storm out of the room.
'No time to waste
gentlemen.'
We all got up and did a quick step to catch up with the near
sprinting wizard.  Even Malkov had to run to keep up with his lord and
master.
     He led us out of his home and towards the tower
itself.  I took a moment to glace at Zender but from the look on his face,
he was just as clueless as I was.  At the door to the tower he stopped for
just a moment, spoke a single word of magic and opened the door.  Up into
the tower we followed him, unsure of what it was that he had in mind.  I
was sure as we were going up the stairs he was trying to induce us into having
a heart attack.  Half way up I could feel the meal I had eaten expanding.
 Zackary, whose face was as red as his hair, was sweating rivers. As we
reached the top of the tower he said something about getting off the ale.
 I took a moment to look out the window to the ground below, even though I
was looking down at the wasteland of Toryth Vol, the view was breathtaking.
When I felt the hand on my arm I turned and looked towards the center of the
tower. Here was the source of all our troubles. Held suspended in a shaft of
golden light was the Rod of the Arcane. I moved closer to it, wanting to get a
closer look at what all this trouble had been about.  It was made from a
dark red wood, seven feet in length. Inlaid runes ran down one side and on the
other half were embedded rubies. Each blood red in color and they glowed with a
strange inner light.
     In later days, when I talked to Zackary about it he
told me he saw something different. He told me it looked like an old stick that
his '
granmarm
' used to chase him and William with.  The last time I
visited with Lomark and Zender they each told me how it looked to them.
 Each of them told me something different but the difference in what each
of them saw was very minor.  I always figured it was because of their
bond.  While they were on different sides of the coin, it was still the
same coin.  I looked towards Ramanthus who was busy looking for something.
 It was then that I noticed all the bookshelves and tables with various
wands and other items. When Ramanthus picked up a long blue horn he turned and
spoke to us.
'I have to summon Sa'tilix, he is the large blue who took the
staff for us. He and his family will be with us when we fight Xcavere. I've
paid a handsome amount of gold to the beast to do my bidding.  He also has
an interest in my work, for a hundred years this mountain range was his home.
When Xcavere destroyed the land, he destroyed his hunting grounds. Even dragons
will not eat the dead.'

     My hand
dropped to my sword, I wanted to attack the crazed wizard on the spot. Yet I
did nothing but watch as he walked to the window and blew out a single long
note on the horn.
'He should be here within the hour. I have to make sure he
is ready for the attack.'
The crack of energy filled the air, we all turned
and looked towards the sound to see Lomark holding his right hand.  Tendrils
of smoke were drifting from his now burnt hand.
'You thought I left it
unprotected? I thought you were smarter than that wizard. Now all of you come
over here, I want to be outside to greet Sa'tilix when he arrives.
' Lomark
didn't say anything but I could tell from the look on his face that he was not
pleased.  He just held his injured hand out at the cleric. '
I should
let you suffer a little longer'
Zender told him.  On one of the tables
stood a model of the White Spire and the mountain it was sitting on. 
Ramanthus began to lay out his plan for us.
    
'Xcavere will approach from the east, he is coming
with his first legion, close to ten thousand strong. All we have to do is hold
the walls of the spire. If they break though, all will be lost.
' I wondered
how he could speak is such a matter of fact tone about the death of every man
under his command.
'Lord Kromwell, you and Master Zackary will be in charge
of the men on the walls and at the main gates. You will only answer to General
Malkov. General Malkov will be mounted on Sa'tilix. The dragons will hit his
troops from behind once the assault begins. I am hoping the five of them will
be enough to slow down the undead. I imagine Xcavere himself will come directly
for the rod. No wall or door will stand in his way. The men are not to engage
him. When he is in the Spire he will find us waiting for him. Lomark, Zender
and I will use the rod on him. With the three of us channeling the power of the
Rod of the Arcane, we will destroy him. You men on the wall just have to make
sure his army his held back long enough for us to do so. Zender, Lomark has
instructed you on how to use the rod correct?'
The question seemed to hang
in the air, each of us turned to look at the black robed wizard who seemed to
only want to be somewhere else at the time.  Zender’s voice was sharp and
quick when he answered
'No Lord Ramanthus, he has never explained that to me
but he will.'

     All Lomark
could do was shake his head and raise his hands.
'It has the ability to
amplify your powers, I just figured you would use it for healing. It would be a
waste of its powers.'
I thought Zender was going to come unglued, he
started to talk but the words would not leave his mouth. He only pointed at the
wizard, letting him know that they were not done talking about this.  Lord
Ramanthus observed this and seemed rather pleased.
'Very well then, Lomark
will begin your instruction once I hear from Sa'tilix. As you have said, we
only have two days and we must all be ready when it is time. Lomark will teach
us both what we need to know but I do have a warning. There are wards in place
that will activate should you try to take the rod from this room. I am warning
you, they will be able to see the explosion in Eystlund.  So, while I will
allow you to teach Zender how to use the rod, do not leave this room with
it.  When I return, I shall open the protective shields around the
rod.'   
I saw then the look on Lomarks face, he was presented
with a new puzzle, a very deadly one.  I only hoped that he would find the
solution before it was too late and he killed everyone on the mountain top.
'Now
I go to meet Sa'tilix. Gentlemen please excuse me, General Malkov, Lord
Kromwell come with me.'
I looked at Zender and Lomark for some kind of sign
as to what I should be doing.  Zender could only nod his head and give me
a faint smile.  As I was following Ramanthus and Malkov back down the
tower stairs, I started to feel like I was back in my cell, in the dark with
those creatures pounding on my door.
     As we followed Ramanthus across the court yard, he
called forward for the men at the gate to open up.  We were going outside
of the Spire to wait for the dragon Sa'tilix.  None of us spoke, when I
did try to ask a question I was given a quick hard glance from the wizard and
told to be quiet.  He was trying to listen for the beast to approach.
 We stood out there for more than three hours, watching Ramanthus pace on
the rocky ground.
'He should have been here by now
.' he would mutter.
This was quickly followed by
'something is wrong.  Do you feel anything
through your bond General?’
 Malkov could only shake his head. The
dragon was not coming and he did not know why.
'Come back to the tower with
me, now!
' Once again we were dragged up the tower steps trying to keep pace
with the mad man.
     Lomark was standing close to the rod, just looking at
it.  Zender was sitting on the floor, lost in prayer.
'The dragon did
not come, I have to travel to their lair in order to make sure they are
alright. Malkov will go with me. He has bonded with Sa'tilix and he will not
attack if Malkov is with me.'
Malkov started to protest.
'My lord, we
have to pay the men today. I cannot put it off any longer, First Sergeant
Willis has been after me all day
.' Ramanthus just waved a hand at the man.
'Lord
Kromwell can handle this minor thing. Now I must open the portal. It will take
a few hours before I can make another portal.  I did not expect this
today. We will return before midnight provided the dragon gives us no trouble.'
I watched as Lomarks eyes narrowed to slits, this was something new to him.
 New magic, it was almost more than he could resist.  He watched
everything Ramanthus did and said, every little thing.  When the silver
spot appeared in the air I thought I was seeing things.  As it grew, the
wind in the room started to pick up. Soon a mirror like surface hung in the
air, it looked like Jasmin's mirror in our bedroom at home. Only all I saw in
this mirror was darkness and then for a quick moment I thought I saw trees.
'Continue
to make ready, Lord Kromwell tell the First Sergeant to make sure the men are
paid tonight. Remember, my warnings young wizard.'
I nodded my head and
bowed at the waist. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. We all
then watched as Ramanthus and Malkov entered the portal and stood there
watching until it closed.

    
'Interesting,
very interesting.
' Lomark said
'I think he just solved one of our
problems for us. I could hear his words but I did not see what component he
used, I need to find his spell book with that spell. Leave me be, I have little
time.
' Zender looked at the wizard as he started to paw through the
bookshelves and asked if he was sure he could cast the spell. He turned his
head and only said '
Perhaps
.' I asked Zender then just what we were
going to do.  
'I will not leave all these men here to die, only to
become part of Xcavere's army. We need to make them leave. We will tell this
First Sergeant that he is to march his men away from here or they will all die
at the hands of Xcavere, which is the truth.  I will also tell them that
Ramanthus just left here with the gold they were supposed to be paid in order
to appease the dragons.  While this is a small lie, everyone knows the
dragon did not answer his summons.  Most mercenaries will not die for
free, they should leave.'
 I was stunned to say the least. Such a
simple plan, I sometimes wonder just what he would have done in this world had
he tried to be more than just a priest.  If things went well, by the time
Ramanthus returned the spire would be empty and the rod would be gone. I could
find no fault in the plan. As the three of us were headed back down the stairs
I really thought it was going to work.  That is what I get for thinking.

      Over
the course of my adventuring life, most of the problems I had encountered never
really required much thought on my part beyond hit it harder.  While that
is a rather simple statement it isn't far from the truth.  I was rather
pleased to let Zender take charge, to leave all the plans to him.  He had
not done anything to make me doubt him.  I also can't blame him for what
happened next.  We had all forgotten about them. When Michaels told all of
us the story, he told us they were here.  After leaving the tower Zackary
headed off to find First Sergeant Willis. Zender and I headed towards the home
of Ramanthus.  We were to wait there for Willis to come and Zender wanted
to summon all the servants, to tell them to leave with the army.  While I
wanted to believe these people would listen to him and get ready to leave, none
of them would budge.  These people all believed in Ramanthus and when
Zackary returned with Willis, he also refused to believe a word that was
said.  He demanded to know where Ramanthus was and he would not do a
single thing until he spoke with him. 

    
‘You have to believe me sir, Ramanthus left here with General Malkov only
moments ago.  We are leaving as well, Xcavere’s army will be here soon, if
you do not get your men marching, they will all die, then continue serve the
lich for all eternity as undead soldiers.  You have a day at the most if
you wait any longer than that everyone here will die.’
  Zender was
getting close to his breaking point.  I could see the frustration building
on his face.  Willis refused to believe that Lord Ramanthus would leave
them all behind, without giving them what he promised.  It was then that I
knew I had to do something.  I had to do something Zender wouldn’t; I had
to hit him just a little bit harder.  I grabbed Willis and slammed him
into a wall, holding him in place.  I felt bad about it but I had to make
the man listen.  I told him that the wizard was gone, that the General was
gone along with all the gold.  That even if Ramanthus returned, they would
still all die.  That he and his men were nothing more than a disposable
shield for Ramanthus to do his magic.  He expected them to all die anyway
and that was why they were not being paid.  I let the man go and stepped
away to watch his face. 

    
‘I knew the plan, long before you got here.  He told us that if any of
us died, he would be able to return us to life with the Rod he had the dragons
steal.’
  Zackary started laughing and spit out some string gibberish
that even I couldn’t understand.  I then asked Willis if he knew why my
friends and I were allowed to enter the White Spire. 
‘He told me that
your wizard friend was powerful and that the priest was a sign from the good
god that Solarth approved.  He told all of us this while you were still
outside the walls.’
  I almost wanted to join Zackary in his ongoing
laughing fit.  I told him that the reason we were allowed to enter was
rather simple, Ramanthus didn’t know how to use the Rod but Lomark did. 
Zender then told Willis that Ramanthus could not use the Rod of the Arcane to return
a man to life, only to raise an army of undead.  This made Willis think,
most men in his line of work know death will come to them sooner rather than
later.  Yet no one wants to think of being turned into some kind of undead
monster. 
‘I will speak to the men.  If Lord Ramanthus does not
return by the time the sun sets on the Spire, we will leave.  Only after
we empty the vaults in the basement below.’
  Willis then looked to the
gathered servants. 
‘You are welcome to travel with my men and I when
we leave but I will not wait.’
  This sent the servants into a panic
and running off to different parts of the house.  Once everyone was gone
again, Zender sent Zackary out to keep an eye on things in the courtyard. 
‘Darmot and I are going to find this vault, try to warn us if things get out
of hand.’
     We found the stairs down to the cellar outside at the
back of the house, when we opened the door a smell rolled out.  It was the
stench of death.  I shook it off and started down the stairs only to have
Zender grab me and hold me back.
'Something isn't right, I feel something,
be careful.
' I took a look back at him, his face was hard, almost looked
like he was in pain.  I took a step back from the stairs, asking him if he
was alright.  He nodded his head and said he would be fine.  I told
him to wait and I would go look around.  He took hold of his medallion of
Solarth and waved at me.  I figured this was him telling me to go on
ahead.  Ignoring the smell I pressed on and headed down the stairs.
 Almost the entire cellar was open.  I saw the vault door right away,
what I didn't see were the three other men sitting down there.  I started
towards the vault door and when I heard the voice coming from behind me I
stopped to look around.
'Oh look brothers, we have guest. Where is
Ramanthus, no one ever comes down here without him.
' Looking at the three
men dressed in black robes I could guess why.  At the far end of the
cellar I saw what looked to be an altar, a body long since dead laid on the
top.
     Each one had hoods covering their heads but the one
who spoke, I could see his face.
'Who are you? What are you doing here?
'
he asked me again. His skin was pale, almost death like.  No more than
death like, it was very much like looking into the face of death.  There
are reasons why a priest of Soranus would keep himself hidden.
'Where is
Ramanthus, speak now
!' Speaking was the last thing I wanted to do but I
told them Lord Ramanthus had to leave the Spire to see to the dragons.
 The one who spoke turned towards the other two, each was nodding their
heads, softly speaking.
'The truth you speak but there is something you are
not telling me. You hold back for a reason, yes?
' I could not answer, the
words failed me.
'Come to me, we will find the truth in your heart.'
I saw
one of them pull out a dagger, yet something was compelling me to walk towards
them.  It was all I could do to resist, to just stand still.  The
feeling passed soon but not before they grew tired of me.
'Ramanthus owes
us, take him to the altar.
' It was then that I heard the pounding of
footsteps coming down the stairs.

     With the
medallion of Solarth in one hand, his hammer in the other Zender came rushing
to my side, the light coming from his hand filled the entire cellar.
'I have
put up with many things since I came to this cursed land but I will not
tolerate the presence of you.
' As the light from his medallion touched the
priest of Soranus they let out a bloodcurdling scream. I stood and watched as
he advanced on them, ready to do battle in the name of his god.  I then
reminded myself that he was not alone as I drew my sword.  Two of the
three priest fell before the light, falling to their knees while they continued
to shriek.  The third, the one who spoke retreated back towards the altar.
'Defiler of men, creatures of darkness, return to your master.'
Zender
was possessed, there was no mercy in his hand that day. His hammer was swift,
his arm strong as he crushed the head of the first priest.  He fell on the
floor, dead as the corpse on the altar.  The second of the priest tried to
ward him off with that dagger in his hand, Zender lashed out at it, I could
hear the bones in his hand break as the hammer made contact.  Before the
dropped blade hit the floor, Zender felled him as well.  Zender would not
be contained.  I had never seen him like this, unrelenting and vicious. 
I had moved up to his side just as the second priest fell to his hammer.
 I looked for the last of them, he was in part hidden behind the altar,
holding something up.  I did not see just what it was until it was far too
late.  As the crossbow bolt was let lose, I was diving forward to protect
my unshielded friend.  As we went crashing to the floor I felt it strike
me, just under my arm where my armor does not cover. All I could say was
crossbow after I rolled off Zender.
'What do you mean, crossbow?'
he
shouted.  I managed to point towards the last priest while I laid there
with a bolt in my ribs, watching as he took off at a run.  I could hear
them fighting but I no longer dared to move, each time I tried I could feel the
bolt sink in just a little bit more. I laid there and listened to the sound of
weapons clashing, vile darkness was pushed back by explosions of light. All the
while I could now feel the bolt pulsing with the beat of my heart. I reached
over with my other hand, trying to find it so I could pull it out.  I
could feel the fletching with my fingertips but each time I tried to get a grip
my hand would slip off, there was now too much blood. As the cloud of contagion
filled the air, I gave up before I made things worse.  Not that the cloud
bothered me, it was getting hard to breath anyway.

      My
vision had started to blur when I saw him standing over me. When he reached
down and pulled the bolt from my body the world took on a sudden and sharp
clarity.
'At least this one wasn't barbed
' he said as he held it out for
me to see.
'Next time just block it with that damn shield.'
With his
hand pressed to the wound I could feel the healing begin. After he helped me to
my feet I looked around at what was left of the priest.  There were wisp
of smoke rising off the priest who shot me with the crossbow.  We then
turned our attention to the vault door.  There wasn’t much to it, just a
simple steel door barred and locked.  As Zender stood there looking at it
I asked him if he still knew how to pick locks. 
‘I have no time to
waste, there are other things I must do.’
  Before I could ask him just
what that was he walked forward and smashed the lock with his hammer. 
While it held up to the first hit, the second time Zender smashed it, and the
lock fell to pieces, crashing to the floor. 

     
Zender then handed me a bag and told me to put everything inside.  I
looked at the pouch and asked him to say that again. 
'This bag is the
single greatest find of my life. We could tear this house down, stick it in
here board by board and have room left over for the foundation.
'  I
looked down at the medallion of Solarth on his chest and asked him if he was
sure of that.  Zender just waved his hand at me and set off on his
task.  As I swung open the vault door I looked back to see what Zender was
doing.  He had pulled all of the priest bodies off to one side and pulled
the old corpse off the altar.  After doing that he started to splash holy
water all over the place, saying prayers to his god.  While I understood
what he was doing, I could only shake my head at him.  I then turned and
walked into the vault.

     
Standing there, looking into the vault, seeing all those piles of coin reminded
me of home.  It was a little bit like the vault in my home.  Not
wanting to waste any more time I opened the bag Zender gave me and started to
remove each pile of gold.  Soon Zender joined me, every coin, every gem
and everything else went into that bag.  It weighed no more than my sword
by the time we were done. We started to head out but Zender stopped just at the
bottom of the stairs. Looking towards the bodies he said,
'We should burn it
all. I've done all I could be there is still bad air in here. We need to purify
it in the flames of fire.
' I reminded him that we did not have any time as
I pushed him up the stairs.  I don't know what Willis had told his men but
by the time we closed the cellar door we could hear men outside the home. 
Zender had started to move towards the front of the house but I pulled him
back, telling him to head towards the tower. 

      By
the time Zackary rejoined us in the tower, we could see a good thirty men
gathered in front of the home of Ramanthus.  Just before dark there were
closer to a hundred men gathered in the court yard.  We all stood and
watched as First Sergeant Willis came out of the house with three other men
behind him.
'The priests are dead and the money is all gone. We were
promised pay and land from this so called General and that kook in the robe.
Now we can wait it out or make our way home. It is up to you boys.'
About
the time all the screaming started Zender poked us from behind, Zackary and I
moved away from the tower windows to avoid being seen by the men below us. 
The illusion was complete, we had shattered their faith in the grand quest of
Ramanthus and we only had the gods to thank for where ever Ramanthus was. 
 

      None
of us bothered Lomark who was lost in his own little world. He had piles of
spell books spread out all over the place, we later learned that he kept more
than a few. Far below us in the court yard, the disciplined soldiers of the
Coming Dawn had turned into an angry mob that soon took on a life of its own.
The first fire was set in the home of Ramanthus. While the men were leaving the
Spire in large groups, the fires continued to spread.  There were two
hundred men in all stationed in the White Spire before the riot started.
 The burning buildings made it impossible to see the ground for a while.
 As the fires started to die we saw the last group of men headed out just
after the sun set.  I just hoped they all made it home, where ever that
was. While they had joined the cause of an evil man, I did not think they all
deserved to die and not the living death that awaited them had they stayed.
 Now we just had to wait and pray that Lomark was able to find the spell
we needed in order to make our escape.  As the eye of Myrrdin made itself
seen over Toryth Vol I heard something I did not expect.  I stuck my head
as far out of the window of the tower as I dared. When I knew for sure just
what it was my blood started to run cold.
'Excellent!
' Lomark said,
'I
found the spell, it should be easy enough. Give me a bit more time.'
I
turned to look at my friends and told them we were out of time. The roar of the
dragon Sa'tilix filled the night air as it came down for a landing in the
courtyard amongst the still smoldering buildings of the White Spire.